The 57-year-old made an obscene gesture from the VIP box to celebrate Argentina’s dramatic 2-1 win over Nigeria which sent them into the last 16, drawing plenty of criticism.

He still managed to keep himself in the limelight even after his country’s exit at the hands of France, claiming that he would turn the team’s fortunes around if named coach, and then being rebuked by FIFA after ranting about the officials following Colombia’s loss to England.

A politically-charged group match between Switzerland and Serbia saw Swiss pair Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka fined by FIFA for celebrating their goals by making a pro-Kosovan ‘double eagle’ gesture which represents the Albanian flag.

Arsenal midfielder Xhaka and Liverpool’s Shaqiri trace their roots to Kosovo, a former province of Serbia where thousands were killed and tens of thousands more chased from their homes during a 1998-1999 conflict between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian guerillas.

Anything Diego can do, Robbie Williams can too

The tournament kicked off with Russia’s 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia, but it was former Take That star Robbie Williams who grabbed headlines for showing his middle finger to a TV camera during his opening-ceremony performance.

The Brazilian star showed plenty of his talent, scoring twice as the five-time champions reached the quarter-finals, but consistently play-acted in apparent attempts to have opponents booked or sent off, even having a dive to win a penalty overturned by VAR.